Mayor's Minute
Our “Phoenix Program” became operational on July 1. As you may have read in last month’s submission, this substance abuse intervention program provides an opportunity for individuals that realize their addiction to seek counseling or recovery assistance through our police and fire departments.
Individuals could seek assistance 24 hours per day, 7 days per week by coming to any Vestavia Hills Fire station or to the Vestavia Hills Police Department. Vestavia Hills would contact participating recovery resource agencies that would respond and provide the necessary assessment and placement depending on the individual’s needs and financial ability. The person seeking help could surrender any illegal substances in their possession without fear of being charged by the police department.
Within the first week of its inception, we had an individual come to the police station seeking help. The individual surrendered a quantity of illegal substances and requested help. One of our partnering recovery resource agencies responded and began the assessment and placement of this individual in the recovery process. Since then, we have had a person call city hall requesting assistance. We shared the number of a recovery resource agency and the person received help immediately.
These two interventions have made the program successful. If we save one life, then we have helped curb this epidemic that is sweeping our state and our nation. There are citizen volunteer opportunities in this program. If you are interested in learning how you can contribute, please call City Hall at 978-0100 or email your interest to administration@ vhal.org.
I would like to honor another Vestavia Hills volunteer that has made a lasting impression on our city. Zella Listerman, the long-time coordinator of our Monday Night Dancers, retired this past month. Zella served as the coordinator for this weekly event that was held at “The Lodge” for 11 years. I attended the “last dance” at the Lodge and was honored to present Zella with a certificate of recognition.
This group, consisting mostly of senior citizens, will be meeting in the Dogwood Room until our new Community Building is completed. If you have not participated in this event, you need to come one Monday evening and enjoy the music, provided by live bands, and the opportunity to dance to all genres of music (maybe with the exception of hip-hop). Thank you Zella for all you have done to make the Monday Night Dance group so much fun. You will be missed!
Our Community Spaces Plan is proceeding. After a few weeks of waiting for submission of bids on Wald Park, you should see more activity as the bid has been awarded and major work will begin. Our objective is to complete the park in the following sequence: the ball fields in time for baseball season, the pool facility in time for summer swimming programs and the community building last.